Ibn Salama
- Died
- 410 AH
- Born in
- -
Ibn Salama (d. 410 AH / 1019 CE) was a blind Baghdadi Hanbali scholar of Quranic exegesis, recitation, and Arabic grammar, best known for his treatise on Quranic abrogation, al-Nasikh wa-al-mansukh.
Lineage and Scholarly Career
He was Abu al-Qasim Hibat Allah ibn Salama ibn Nasr ibn 'Ali al-Baghdadi al-Darir. Based in Baghdad, he studied under local scholars, including a teacher at Bab Muhawwal, and heard hadith from Abu Bakr ibn Malik al-Qati'i. He established a prominent teaching circle (halqa) at the Mosque of al-Mansur (Jami' al-Mansur) in Baghdad, where he taught Quranic disciplines and grammar.
Among those who transmitted from him were his maternal grandson Rizq Allah al-Tamimi, Abu al-Hasan 'Ali ibn al-Qasim al-Tabakhi, and Abu 'Abd Allah al-Husayn ibn Muhammad al-Raqqi. In addition to his celebrated work on abrogation, al-Nasikh wa-al-mansukh, which was widely transmitted through Rizq Allah al-Tamimi, he authored grammatical notes titled al-Masa'il al-manthura.
Standing and Scholarship
Ibn Salama was celebrated for his memory and mastery of Quranic interpretation and the Arabic language. Abu 'Amr al-Dani described him as the foremost scholar of his era in Quranic exegesis and the differing opinions of the early generations (ikhtilaf al-salaf). It was reported that he transmitted ninety-five distinct commentaries on the Quran and dictated both Quranic exegesis and abrogation entirely from memory. Biographers also characterized him as righteous and reliable (salih thiqa).
Death
Ibn Salama died on a Tuesday in the month of Rajab 410 AH (1019 CE) and was buried the following day, Wednesday, 10 Rajab, in the cemetery adjoining the Mosque of al-Mansur in Baghdad.
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List of Works
al-Nasikh wal-Mansukh (The Abrogating and Abrogated) is a treatise on Quranic abrogation. It provides a concise, surah-by-surah survey of Quranic passages held to have been superseded or abrogated in Islamic legal and exegetical tradition.